Comments on: What DSLRs Need to Become a True Camcorder Replacement

By: brunsdan

brunsdan — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 17:02:14 +0000

Gonz67,
Quality questions. These are the kinds of questions that almost every professional videographer should be asking. Bravo. To answer some of your questions (and to give you some new ones), I wanted to mention that due to the FAT32 formatting on the CompactFlash cards that the 7D records to, it can only record for a max of 12 minutes at a time before stopping. Unfortunately, that’s not very conducive towards making a happy customer. If your video stopped recording in the middle of an “I do” I’m sure the client would be pretty frustrated. Also, the camera gets very hot when recording for long periods of time to a CompactFlash card which could start to negatively affect the components inside your camera over time. If you are shooting a lot of long takes like pittotfilms commented on before this, your camera is bound to get very warm to the touch. As for battery life, I have had the privilege of shooting on one of these myself and know that even after a full day of shooting a variety of nature scenes, I still had half a battery left. That is a real success in my mind. Also, when it comes to low light shooting, the 7D does a better job by far than the current Sony FX1′s we are using here at the studio. For proof of this, check out this low light video shot at a high ISO of 2400: http://vimeo.com/9247600. Lastly, as far as resolution goes, the 7D has 1080p at 30 fps and 24 fps. It can also shoot in 720p at 30 fps and 60 fps. Finally, it can also shoot in 640×480 at 60 fps. It’s not full DV but if full DV is what you are looking for, you can always downconvert your footage from 720p. As for the aspect ratio, as long as you keep framing in mind, you can crop the 16:9 ratio that you’ll get after filming in 720p. Hope that helps answer some of your questions concerning using this camera for video. Good luck!

Dan

By: gonz67

gonz67 — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 01:52:35 +0000

As a wedding videographer I wonder if this camera can handle the rough and tumble world of event videos. How long does the battery last? Does it ONLY shoot in HD or can I shoot in DV? I read that it was “good in low light.” What does that mean? Do I have to put a 50 watt light out during the first dance? Does the image get grainy fast?

By: brunsdan

brunsdan — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 18:05:46 +0000

Hey pittotfilms,
Thanks for sharing about your experience with the Canon EOS 7D. I’m sure your film benefitted greatly from the abilities of that camera. The funny thing is the footage I captured for the Basic Editing DVD was actually shot on a 7D as well. I have found it to be a very user friendly camera that takes stunning video and photographs. It’s light, easy to carry, and has an excellent live viewer. I wasn’t aware that these cameras tend to overheat. Was it due to continuous shooting or the lights on the set? Either way, I wish you well on your project and am interested in seeing the final result!

By: pittotfilms

pittotfilms — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 14:08:25 +0000

We are just coming to the end of a six week shoot on CITY OF THE DAMNED, a feature film using the Canon EOS 7D and have to say this camera is an absolute game changer. We will never go back to anything else again. Yes there are issues – mainly focus pulls are a pain the lens but not impossible and there are some rigs out there to make it easier. The sound issue is not an issue for us as we will be ADRing all the dialogue and foleying all the sound anyway so the on set guide track is adequate. The main issue though is heat build up!! At least once a day we get the little flashing thermometer meaning its about to over heat and burst into flames (LOL) although this seems to vary from camera to camera as we had two 7Ds on set shooting different angles of the same shot and one overheated and the other didn’t. CotD will be finished in about another 6-8 weeks so watch out for it.
Jonty Reason (director)